Newly appointed Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) CEO and Registrar, Dr. David Boikhutso Motau, has been suspended.
Acting health minister, Mmamoloko Kubayi, on Thursday said the new head honcho at HPCSA Dr. Motau had been placed on “precautionary suspension effective immediately”.
Dr. Motau was only appointed as HPCSA CEO/Registrar just over a month ago.
The acting health minister said the decision to suspend Dr. Motau follows the department’s receipt of a notice of his arrest.
Dr. Motau was arrested and faces serious allegations of fraud and corruption. The alleged crimes are linked to his tenure as the head of the Free State health department.
Dr. Motau was one of 13 people arrested for allegedly defrauding the provincial health department of R8.7 million.
All the accused appeared earlier this week in the Bloemfontein regional court, where they were granted bail.
They all face charges that include fraud, forgery, money laundering and corruption.
“His [Dr. Motau] precautionary suspension is necessitated by the seriousness of the allegations and its ramification to ethical dynamics in the health fraternity,” said Kubayi.
